Portable toilets are known in the art. Non-limiting examples of such prior art portable toilets are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. D624,663; U.S. Pat. No. D545,451; U.S. Pat. No. D519,645; U.S. Pat. No. D452,901; U.S. Pat. No. 6,668,392; U.S. Pat. No. 6,507,958; U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,256; U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,785; U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,111; U.S. Pat. No. 4,380,836; US 2007/0174955; US 2003/0208838; WO 2009/123655; and DE 10342371, all of which are fully incorporated herein by reference.
Prior art portable toilets are commonly modular units that are formed of plastic material. The portable toilets are typically shipped assembled. After used, the complete interior is cleaned and flushed out for subsequent use. Although prior art portable toilets have advantageously solved sanitary problems in locations that have insufficient, few or no bathroom facilities, these prior art portable toilets have several disadvantages.
One disadvantage of prior art portable toilet is the time and difficulty of thoroughly cleaning the portable toilet after use. The interior cavity of the portable toilet must be fully cleaned and sanitized after use. The small interior cavity makes it difficult to access the complete interior cavity. As such, the cleaning of the portable toilet is very time consuming and labor intensive. Also, the proper and constant cleaning of the interior components of the portable toilet is difficult to maintain.
Another disadvantage of prior art portable toilets is that the assembled portable toilets are bulky, thus only a few portable toilets can be transported at a time by a standard truck. Larger transport trucks are required to transports larger numbers of the portable toilets. The size, weight and bulk of the portable toilets require multiple individuals to move the portable toilets on and off of a transport vehicle. As such, the shipping, unloading and loading of the portable toilets are very labor intensive and typically require multiple individuals.
Another disadvantage associated with portable toilets is the difficulty associated with branding a portable toilet. Many public events (e.g., fairs, carnivals, outdoor craft shows, outdoor festivals, outdoor cooking events, etc.) that draw substantial numbers of people to a location that typically do not have sanitary facilities for large groups of people (e.g., parks, parking lots, street events, etc.) are sponsored by one or more companies or organizations. These events also typically require the use of portable toilets to accommodate the sanitary requirements of large groups of people at the event. Many sponsors seek branding of items at the event to promote the company or organization. The inclusion of advertising on the portable toilets generally is difficult or expensive. Custom painting or forming the portable toilet to include a brand name or symbol on the portable toilet is expensive and the portable toilet must forever be used with such brand. Banners or stickers can be applied to the portable toilet; however, such banners can be unsanitary or easily removed, and stickers can be difficult to remove thus defacing the portable toilet.
In view of the current state of the art of portable toilets, there is a need for an improved portable toilet that is easy to clean, transport, and which can be branded.